


Fushichou no Ongaeshi

by FujiwaraJunko



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alive Thatch (One Piece), Character Death Fix, Everyone Is Alive, Family, Fix-It, Folklore, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Kurohige | Blackbeard | Marshall D. Teach Dies, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Portgas D. Ace Lives, Shirohige | Whitebeard | Edward Newgate Lives, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:01:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27991197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FujiwaraJunko/pseuds/FujiwaraJunko
Summary: The whispers say that Whitebeard and his 16 Division Commanders are immortal. That they cannot be killed even when inflicted with fatal wounds. That they rise again even after dying.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 132
Collections: Pyro's Faves





	1. Thatch's Alive

**The whispers say that Whitebeard and his 16 Division Commanders are immortal. That they cannot be killed even when inflicted with fatal wounds. That they rise again even after dying.**

**_That’s impossible_ , someone says dismissively, refusing to believe it.**

**_Strange things happen in the Grand Line,_ another says in interest, keeping an open mind.**

* * *

The last thing Thatch remembered was Teach with an eerie grin, holding the devil fruit he'd found not long ago in his hand and a knife in the other.

"The Yami Yami No Mi belongs to me! Zehahahahaha!" And then pain erupted from his back and it all went black. The next thing he knew, he was being shaken awake roughly by a concerned Marco.

“Thatch! Thatch, wake up, yoi!” Thatch let out a groan.

"Ugh... Mar- Marco..?" His eyes scanned his surroundings dazedly, finding himself lying face down on the deck of the Moby Dick. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, rubbing his head with a slight wince, feeling a bump where his head had collided with the floor. “Marco? What’s up?” He asked, confused. What was he doing out on the deck? Marco smiled in relief, shaking his head.

“I don’t know, yoi. I came out and found you collapsed on the ground, yoi. What happened, yoi?”

"I... Uh..." It took Thatch only a moment to recall what happened. He shot upright, grabbing Marco’s arm in a panic. "Teach! Where's Teach?" Anger flashed in Marco’s eyes.

“Teach?” He snarled. “Did _Teach_ do this, yoi?”

“Y-Yeah. I came out to the deck because I couldn’t sleep, and he stabbed me." Thatch shivered, wrapping his arms around his body. "...He _stabbed_ me." He repeated with a softer voice, as if it had just dawned on him that someone he trusted and treated like a brother had tried to kill him.

 _Shouldn’t I be dead?_ The thought popped into his mind abruptly.

"My back." He straightened up. "My back! Marco, check my back! Teach stabbed me there!"

"Thatch, calm down, yoi! I’ve already checked earlier, you’re fine, yoi! There wasn’t a wound, yoi!” Marco fought against Thatch’s arms, which flailed around frantically.

"What? That can't be right! He stabbed me with the knife! I felt the pain!" Marco held his shoulders, shaking him lightly.

"There's no wound, but there's blood on your clothes and a scar that matches the tear in your clothes, Thatch.” Thatch’s shoulders slumped, feeling a chill in his spine.

“But…I’m sure Teach stabbed me.” He whispered. “He took the devil fruit that I found with him. Said the Yami Yami No Mi belongs to him." Marco sighed.

“I believe you, yoi. Let’s go let Oyaji know, yoi.”

* * *

The atmosphere in the meeting room was hostile. As soon as Whitebeard learnt of what happened, he woke all of his Commanders up for a meeting.

“Is it true?” Vista asked, his voice small. “Did…Did Teach really stab Thatch and betrayed us?” Marco nodded.

“I believe Thatch, yoi. I saw the blood, and Thatch wouldn’t lie about something like this, yoi.”

“So what do we do about Teach, Oyaji? We checked everywhere, and he’s gone. Who knows how far he’s gone by now.” Jiru said.

“Isn’t it obvious? We chase him down and kill him!” Ace growled as he leapt to his feet, shoulders aflame. “That bastard… I won’t forgive him!” He turned to Whitebeard. “Oyaji! Let me go! He couldn’t have gone far! I’m sure I can catch up to him with Striker!”

“Not now, Ace.” Whitebeard rumbled. “We need to think this over carefully. There’s still too much we don’t know.”

“Oyaji!” Ace exclaimed in protest, but Whitebeard ignored him.

“Haruta.” Haruta looked up. “Can you find out more about the Yami Yami No Mi, and let me know?” Haruta nodded.

“Leave it to me, Oyaji!”

“Oyaji, we can’t just waste time like this!” Ace said. “Thatch was almost killed, you know! While we’re doing all these, Teach could’ve gone too far away, and then what?”

“Calm down, Ace.” Marco stopped him. “We all want Teach dead as soon as possible too, but we can’t just charge in without a plan, yoi. If it was any other pirate, sure, yoi. But this is Teach we’re talking about, yoi.” Marco clenched his fists tightly. “We’ve seen him in battle before, but he could’ve been holding back for all we know, yoi. And besides, he’s been with Oyaji for a long time, yoi. How many of the Whitebeard Pirates do you think will be able to fight all out against someone who was once a brother, yoi?” Ace flinched as Marco’s gaze fell onto him. “Don’t forget, Ace. You, as a Division Commander, are responsible for your entire Division, yoi. You have a duty to protect your Division, yoi. That means you can’t just recklessly charge into battle and endanger their lives, yoi.” Ace gritted his teeth and reluctantly sat back down.

“Hey, Ace, it’s alright. I mean, I’m still alive.” Thatch said, placing a hand comfortingly on Ace’s shoulder.

“But you could’ve died.” Ace spat out bitterly. Thatch grimaced, feeling a tingling sensation on a certain spot on his back, a reminder of the wound that should’ve killed him. He gulped.

“That reminds me, isn’t it strange that Thatch’s wound healed so quickly?” Curiel asked curiously.

“I honestly don’t know.” Thatch shrugged. “All I remember was getting stabbed, and then the next thing I knew, Marco was there.”

“By the time I arrived, all that was left was a scar, yoi.” Marco added when their questioning gazes turned to him.

“Whatever it is, I’m just glad you’re ok, son.” Whitebeard smiled gently down at him in relief. Thatch could only return the smile, despite being clearly unnerved about the situation.

* * *

“How are you feeling?” Ace asked as he joined Thatch out on deck after the meeting.

“I…I’m a little worried.” Thatch admitted, his gaze fixed on the sky. “I’m normal as far as I know, but normal humans don’t just heal like that, do they?”

“Not unless they’ve eaten Marco’s devil fruit, I don’t think so. I think there’s another devil fruit that heals too, but I’m not too sure.” Ace shrugged.

“I’m not a devil fruit user. I don’t recall doing anything that could’ve done that.” Thatch mumbled, sighing. “What’s going on with me?” Ace just gave a low hum.

“I don’t really care what it is. The most important thing is that you’re alive and safe, and we won’t let anything hurt you again.”

“That’s true. Thanks, Ace.” Thatch turned to Ace with a grateful smile, only for a frown to take its place when he noticed what he was doing. “Ace, where are you going with Striker?”

“Scouting.” Ace said simply as Thatch raised an eyebrow at him.

“You’re not going to go after Teach, are you? Oyaji said he had a bad feeling about it and forbade us from going after him!”

“Don’t worry, Thatch. I’ll just be gone for a little while.” Ace grinned before jumping off the deck and sailing off.

“Ace!” Thatch called out after him to no avail.

“So he left after all, yoi.” Thatch turned to the owner of the voice next to him.

“Marco! We have to stop him! Or let Oyaji know! Or something!” Marco shook his head.

“Oyaji already knows, yoi. There’s no way Ace would be able to sit still obediently after being told not to go after a traitor, yoi.” He sighed. “Oh well, I’ll know if something happens to him anyway, yoi.”

“You will? How?” Thatch asked, looking to Marco curiously. Maybe it was because Ace had gone off after Teach by himself, but Thatch swore he caught a fleeting anxious look on Marco’s face before it was replaced with nonchalance with a blink.

“His Vivre card, yoi. We all have a piece of each other’s Vivre Card, yoi.” Marco reminded, rolling his eyes.

“Vi-? O-Oh, right! We have it!” Thatch shook the thought from his head and pulled out the piece of paper from within his pompadour, ignoring the questioning look from Marco. He heaved a sigh of relief, feeling more reassured when Marco patted his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, yoi. No matter what happens, we’ll definitely go to him if he’s in trouble, yoi.”


	2. Marineford Fix

**“How is he still alive? I saw it with my very own eyes!”**

**“Sir, Whitebeard and his Division Commanders really are immortal, just like they say!”**

**“That's preposterous!" Sengoku roared, but he could say no more than that, for he had been there to witness it. A magma fist to the chest, but seconds later, the boy had gotten up and continued fighting like nothing happened, with not a single wound in sight.**

* * *

**Marshall D. Teach was terrified. His plan had been to kill Whitebeard and replace him as one of the Four Emperors while he was weak from the war in Marineford. His plan had gone well for most part. By the time he arrived in Marineford, Whitebeard was covered in various wounds, shedding so much blood that it's a miracle he was still standing. But in the midst of a barrage of attacks, the old man suddenly turned to him and fought back in a vicious manner with strength akin to that of his prime. His body was bloodied, but the wounds from which the blood poured out no longer exist. Whitebeard truly is the strongest man in the world, and to top it off, immortal.**

* * *

Nobody said anything as they sailed away on the Moby Dick, far away from the ruined remains of Marineford. They were all hurt and tired from the long battle at Marineford, and they didn’t want to think about the things they’ve seen there.

Ace sat alone up in the crow’s nest, his hand absentmindedly rubbing on his chest, where a hole had been not long ago. He remembered the feeling of the magma fist burning through him. He remembered the pain and agony he felt at every second of it. And yet, there was no proof it had even happened, other than a burn scar where the wound should’ve been. He knew that below, on the deck, Whitebeard was sitting in his chair as always, but his torso now sported numerous new scars from wounds he’d attained during the war that had occurred not long ago.

He swallowed hardly, fighting the urge to throw up. He felt sick. It just felt so wrong in so many ways. There was no way he could’ve survived that, and yet, here he was. Alive. Was this how Thatch felt as well, when he woke up to find that the wound that should’ve killed him was nothing but a scar? He couldn’t help but wonder as he buried his head in his knees.

* * *

“Ace, there you are.” Thatch said as he climbed up into the crow’s nest to join Ace. “Oyaji wants to celebrate our victory.”

“I’m not hungry...” Ace mumbled.

“How are you feeling?” Thatch asked sympathetically. Ace briefly gave him a small smile, reminded of their conversation months ago, before dropping it.

“Not good. It feels like my head is spinning, and it’s making me dizzy.” He admitted, hugging his knees closer to himself. “I… I thought that I’d die for sure, back there. And yet, before I knew it, I didn’t feel any more pain. I could move again. I felt stronger. And then I checked, and the wound was gone.” He gritted his teeth, his form beginning to tremble. He reached a shaky hand up to hold his head. “Why did the wound disappear? I felt the pain. Everyone saw the fist in my chest. And yet, all that’s left is a scar. How? What does this mean?” Thatch listened to him silently, sitting down next to him and looking up at the sky.

“When it happened to me, people started gossiping. I don’t know how the news spread. I think Teach bragged about it. But when they saw me alive and well, they got scared. They say that I’m immortal, a monster that doesn’t die. Somehow, Oyaji and the other Commanders got dragged into the rumours at some point.” Ace raised his head slightly to glance at Thatch, noticing the smile that could be more accurately described as a grimace on his face. “Hearing them made me think. My thoughts were just about the same as yours at first, but as time passed, I started thinking more about the future. Does this mean I won’t die? Will I be alive even long after you guys die? Where will I go then? That scared me the most.” Thatch looked to Ace guiltily. “It might sound bad, but when the same happened to you and Oyaji, I couldn’t help but feel relieved.” A sob escaped his lips, and he raised a hand to cover his eyes. “I came to apologise for that. Even though I knew you were probably feeling the same way as I did before, I couldn’t help but feel happy about it. It’s so selfish of me, isn’t it? I’m sorry, Ace. I guess that makes me a bad brother.”

“…Idiot.” Thatch’s eyes widened as he looked to Ace, only to see tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, a shaky smile on his lips. “That doesn’t make you a bad brother at all. We’re pirates, you know. It’s in our nature to be selfish.” Ace uncurled himself, straightening up. “Thanks, Thatch.”

“Eh? What for? I didn’t do anything.” Thatch asked, following him with his eyes as he stood up.

“For cheering me up.” Ace grinned down at him and held out a hand. “Come on, let’s go get something to eat. I’m starving.” Thatch matched his grin as he accepted the hand, allowing himself to be pulled up to his feet.

“Good, ‘cause I cooked lots!”

“I expect no less from our head chef.” The two made their way down onto the deck to join the crowd, grinning all the way.

* * *

“Oyaji… Everyone…” The crew looked up in the middle of their celebration when Ace spoke up. “Thanks for coming for me.” He bowed deeply, missing the crew exchanging surprised looks.

“Don’t sweat it, yoi.” Marco grinned. “You’re our brother, of course we’d come for you, yoi.”

“Yeah! We’d do the same for any of us!” Haruta said. “No need to thank us for that!”

“Even though…Even though I’m the Son of Roger?” Ace questioned. The crew rolled their eyes at him.

“Obviously! It doesn’t matter who your father is. You’re our family now, and that’s all that matters!” Izo voiced their unspoken agreement. Thatch wrapped his arm around Ace’s shoulders.

“The day you went after Teach, all of us kept an eye on your Vivre Card. We were prepared to come after you from the beginning.” Ace smiled before looking to Whitebeard guiltily.

“I’m sorry, Oyaji. None of these would’ve happened if I hadn’t tried to go after Teach alone.” Whitebeard shook his head.

“Don’t be, son. It all turned out for the better. We showed the world what happens if they mess with one of our own. All of us made it out alive. We even got to meet your cheeky brat of a little brother. And Teach is dead.” There was a hint of sadness in Whitebeard’s voice when he said the last part, but it was mostly covered by the anger. “None of these would’ve happened if you weren’t so hot-headed and stubborn. You’re fine the way you are, son.” Ace looked down.

“I almost wasted everyone’s efforts _because_ I’m so hot-headed and stubborn.” His hand raised up to his new scar automatically. “I still don’t know why I didn’t die then. It feels like I deserve to die, for all the trouble I’ve caused.”

“Ace, do you really believe that?” Ace pursed his lips. He had been semi-conscious when he collapsed after delivering his last words to Luffy. He heard the many voices crying out for him. The heart-breaking grief in their voices, joined soon after by rage as they fought back even more fiercely than before. The pain in their voices was so intent, so raw, that even the mere thought of it made tears well up in Ace’s eyes. He really managed to find a family that truly cared about him and loved him for him. It was so surreal.

“…No.” Whitebeard studied him for a while before chuckling, pulling Ace into a one-armed hug.

“Welcome home, son.”

“Welcome home, Ace!” The crew chorused. Ace allowed the tears to fall freely then. The newly repaired Whitebeard tattoo on his back seemed to burn, as if reminding him that he was truly part of the Whitebeard Pirates, and that they have genuinely accepted him as one of them.

“…I’m home.” He choked out from the middle of the large group hug from his Father and Brothers.


	3. The Reason

The Whitebeard Division Commanders eyed one another nervously. The day after the celebration, Whitebeard had suddenly called for a meeting, and there was something about the look in his eyes that gave them a bad sinking feeling. The atmosphere was tense and deadly silent as Whitebeard sat down in his chair, a stark contrast from the cheerful celebratory mood from the day before. For a few minutes, nobody spoke. And then, Whitebeard sighed heavily.

“Marco.” Marco looked at Whitebeard, hiding his nervousness and ignoring the 15 pair of eyes on him.

"Yes, Oyaji?"

"You could've died." Shock was the guaranteed reaction as everyone in the room tensed up, eyes wide.

"WHAT?!" They chorused.

"W-What?" Marco's voice was soft, his eyes as wide as his brothers’. He was just as confused as all of them, not knowing the reason behind Whitebeard’s words. In fact, Whitebeard and Ace are the ones who deserved that line more than Marco. The two of them had been fatally wounded, and the fact that they are still alive and well now was a miracle that still feels surreal to them.

"Oyaji, what do you mean by that?" Ace asked.

"Yeah, Marco's a phoenix! He heals from every wound, doesn't he? He won't die that easily!" Thatch exclaimed.

“If anything, Oyaji, you and Ace were the ones who really almost died!” Haruta said. Whitebeard ignored them and turned to Ace.

"Ace, when you were punched by Akainu's magma fist," Ace grimaced at the memory, as did his brothers. "what do you remember?" He furrowed his brows.

He remembered feeling creeped out by the sight of the fist protruding from his chest in the midst of the pain. He remembered falling into Luffy’s arms when Akainu ripped his fist out. He remembered saying his last words in tears and feeling annoyed by the distracting blue glow from below him as he spoke. He remembered the darkness coming over him and thinking that the Death felt rather warm compared to the icy cold he had expected. And then, he was suddenly up on his feet, throwing a Fire Fist at Akainu's back while the Red Dog was preoccupied with Marco, who had flown in to intercept his attack on Luffy, blue flames sweeping over the wounds on his body. 

Blue flames.

Something clicked in his mind as a sudden thought sprang up. He turned to Marco, who suddenly seemed to find the table interesting.

 _"Get these off, yoi! Someone get these stupid cuffs off, yoi! NOW!"_ He faintly remembered hearing the panic-stricken shout just before he lost consciousness.

"Marco. What did you do?" Ace asked, his voice accusatory despite the shock. Marco didn't reply. "Marco. What. Did. You. Do."

"Oyaji, what's going on?" Vista voiced out everyone's thoughts.

"I was watching." Whitebeard started slowly, his gaze never leaving Marco. "I was watching when Ace said his ‘last words’ to his brother, and I saw blue flames coming over his wound as he fell.”

“Blue…flames?” Namur mumbled, looking over to Marco, who still didn’t look up. “Marco?”

“Yes, I had the same thought.” Whitebeard nodded, seemingly reading their minds. “That’s why I looked for Marco, and I caught a glimpse of a huge gaping hole in Marco's chest, right where Ace was punched, just before his flames covered it up."

"Eh? What...What do you mean by that, Oyaji?" Thatch swallowed hardly. "You think Marco did something to us so that we can heal like he does?" He suddenly flinched. "Is that why I didn't die that night?" He asked, his voice quieter.

"Yes." They all looked to Marco, who sighed in defeat. "That’s right, I did something to make sure that you won't die, yoi.”

“Marco, you-” Izo gaped, speechless.

“We’re the Whitebeard Pirates, the crew of one of the Yonko, yoi. It’s inevitable for us to come face-to-face with strong enemies, be it Marines or other Pirates. I got scared.” He admitted, bringing his hands up onto the table and clenching them together tightly. “What if, one day, we end up in a fight that was too much for us, yoi?” _Like the Marineford War_ , was left unsaid. “Not to mention the fact that some of us are way too reckless and just charge straight into battle without thinking, yoi.” Ace winced, feeling a jab. “What if someone dies, yoi? Oyaji’s health isn’t the best either. What if **Oyaji** died, yoi? What would happened to our family then, yoi? We’re a bunch of misfits who are hated by the world, yoi. Without this family, where else can we go, yoi? Where else can we find a place to belong, yoi?”

They were rendered speechless by the raw fear in Marco’s voice. Marco was the mother hen of the Whitebeard Pirates, a running gag among the crew, but they hadn’t realised just how much Marco cared for them. All of them were content to simply focus on the present, living each day to the fullest. If they die, they die, and that was it. The rest will mourn and grief for a few days, and then after coming to terms with it, they’ll just move on with their lives.

But Marco cared too much to let that happen. While everyone was enjoying life every day, Marco was busy worrying about their future, and whether they’d be alone without this family. And then Marco’s antics made sense to them. Why he always scolded Oyaji about drinking too much sake and not watching out for his health. Why he always scolded Ace about his tendency to think with his emotions and his inability to run from a fight, even if it was too much for him. Why he always never left the side of those injured and sick, keeping a watchful eye on them.

Everything he did, it was because of this deep fear he had, which he hid behind his laid-back attitude, of losing the only family he’s ever known. The only family this bunch of hopeless fools has ever known. And his fears were well founded, based on Teach’s betrayal and the War in Marineford, they realised with heavy hearts.

“My powers are based more on healing than combat, yoi. No matter what wounds are inflicted on me, I always heal, yoi. That’s when I started thinking if my powers can be used on others too, yoi.” Marco said, encasing one of his hand in blue flames, staring into it. “I found out that I can heal others with my Blue Flames of Resurrection, yoi. But how much I can heal is limited, and I have to be there to heal, yoi. What if something happened to one of you and I wasn’t there to help then, yoi? So I researched even more, and then I found this, yoi.” He extinguished the flames and sprouted his tail from his back. He picked up one of the chain-like appendages which accompanied his tail, each glowing golden. “As long as each of you has a piece of this, I could ensure that none of you will die, even without being there, yoi.”

“H-How does it work?” Thatch asked.

“Unlike my powers, it doesn’t heal every wound, yoi. This only activates in the moment of death,” Ace and Thatch flinched. “and when it does, it leaves the body renewed, without a single injury, yoi.”

“But there’s a drawback, isn’t there?” Whitebeard asked, making Marco avert his gaze. “One that hurts you. Isn’t that why you didn’t tell us about this?”

“Is that true, Marco?” Haruta asked, his voice small, as they all turned to Marco with expressions of dread and horror.

“…The reason it leaves behind scars is because the wounds don’t exactly heal, yoi. It…” Marco seemed hesitant to continue. “It just transfers to me, yoi.”

“It…It transfers?” Rakuyo whispered. All of their faces had paled at the revelation as Marco nodded.

“The damage transfers to me, but I can easily heal myself, so it's no big deal, yoi." Whitebeard placed a hand on Marco's shoulder, his eyes reflecting nothing but pure grief and guilt.

"You had seastone cuffs on when Ace was almost killed, son. You could've died." Horrified realisation appeared on his brothers' faces as the weight of Whitebeard's previous words sunk in. "If the seastone cuffs hadn't been taken off in that moment..."

"Not to mention you heal, but you feel the pain all the same, don't you, Marco?" Thatch said. “Isn’t that how you found me that night?” Marco didn't reply, memories of that night flooding his mind. He remembered having woken up abruptly to a sharp pain in his back, and the sight of blue flames covering up a wound that had appeared out of nowhere was enough to send him shooting out of his room, using his Haki to sense the locations of all of his brothers, which led him out onto the deck to find Thatch on the ground face first, his back bloody.

A chair falling hardly to the ground made them look up at Ace, who was glaring at Marco, his body partially turned into flames. "Cut it off." He snarled. "Whatever you did, stop it. I refuse to have you take **my** wounds and **my** pain for me. Cut it off!"

"No." Marco met his gaze defiantly. "I'm not going to risk losing you guys, yoi. If not for me, Thatch would've died, yoi. If not for me, you would've died, yoi! If not for me, Oyaji would've died, yoi!” It took a moment for Marco to realise he was shouting, and he took a few breaths to calm himself down, sitting back down in his seat. “So no, Ace, I am not stopping it, and you can't make me, yoi. Not even if it's an order from you, Oyaji.” He turned his gaze to Whitebeard, who remained silent. “It’s true that this power is risky, yoi. One slip, and I might end up dying instead, yoi. But it’s a risk I’m willing to take, yoi. I’m not losing any of you, not if I can help it, yoi.” Tense silence came over the occupants of the meeting room, still struggling to take in everything that happened in the past hour.

Finally, Whitebeard spoke up. “Is there anybody else?” Marco looked to him in confusion. “Who else did you use that power on?”

“Other than the 15 Division Commanders and you, nobody else, yoi.” Marco answered simply. “And it was a good thing too, yoi. If I had used it on Teach…” He shook his head, refusing to think of it. “Besides, I don’t have enough feathers for everyone on the crew, yoi.”

“Yeah, you’d be a naked bird if you had done it for everyone.” Thatch joked, succeeding in breaking the tension as chuckles broke out from the others.


	4. Repaying a Favor

He had been alone for as long as he could remember. Ever since he ate that weird-looking fruit as a young child, he had been abandoned by his family, hunted by greedy criminals seeking his power or just wanting his phoenix form as a pet, to be caged and shown off to others or sold for high sums of money. For so long, he had cursed this power, and his self-loathing only grew worse with every wound he healed almost instantaneously from, and the panicked cries of ‘monster’ left behind in his trail.

One day, some bastards had cornered him and managed to stick a sword into him before a sudden shockwave threw them to the ground. He had quickly scrambled into the nearby alley to hide, gritting his teeth in pain. Of course, he would’ve taken the sword out himself if only it wasn’t made of seastone.

Seastone.

Another reason he resented his powers. Each time his hand made contact with the sword when he attempted to pull it out, it filled him with so much weakness that he couldn’t even lift his arm, much less pull the stupid sword out.

Tears were spilling into his eyes before he could stop them. He was just so tired of it all. Living like this, all this hurt and pain. All the solitude and the rejection from others. If he had known this was how his life would turn out, then he never would’ve eaten that stupid fruit, starving or not! If only he didn’t have this fruit… If only this fruit didn’t exist, he would have never had to go through this!

“Brat.” The voice made him jump and he turned to face the source, hissing in pain as he turned. “You shouldn’t be moving around in that state.” His heart nearly stopped at the sight of the huge man towering over him. His instincts screamed at him to run, but the weakness that the seastone left in him made him physically unable to. The whimper that escaped his lips when he tried to run made something akin to anger flashed in the giant man’s eyes. “Monsters.” The word ‘monster’ made him flinch, and his tears fell harder against his will. Even a stranger could tell he is a monster at a glance. He had to leave. He refused to be captured and bent to the will of another. “What monsters, to have done something so cruel to a mere child.”

“What?” The words left his mouth before he could stop it. No, that wasn’t right. He was a monster! Why did this guy say they are the monsters, and not him? He couldn’t understand.

“I’m impressed that you’re still alive, with such wounds.” The man continued as he reached out a hand towards the sword stuck in him. He flinched back, and the man seemed to notice his wariness. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to take that sword out, even though it’s going to hurt.”

“T…Take it out, yoi.” He rasped, and the man nodded in understanding. He grabbed the sword, only to withdraw his hand quickly.

The man’s eyes narrowed as he hissed out, “Seastone.” The man looked to him. “Brat, you ate a devil fruit?” He could only nod in reply. This was it. The man would call him a monster and leave, deciding that a monster like him is better off dead. “I see.” To his surprise, the man only nodded and grabbed the sword again. The man grunted as he pulled on the sword. The action left the man winded, his breaths growing laboured, as if such a supposedly simple action had taken him a great amount of effort. It feels almost like…

“D…Did you eat one too, yoi?” He couldn’t help but ask. The man only grinned at him.

“You got that right, brat.” The man tightened his grip on the sword, and with one last grunt, finally pulled it out. As soon as the seastone was no longer in contact with his body, he burst into bright blue flames, eagerly sweeping over the wounds that covered his body. The man only watched keenly, unbothered by the sight. “You don’t have a family, do you?”

“I’m a monster, yoi.” He said softly as the blue flames faded away, leaving behind not a single trace of wounds on him. “Nobody would accept me, yoi.”

“Gurarara! So am I.” The man just replied. He looked up at the man. This man was different from all those he’s met before. He wasn’t treated with fear nor contempt, neither did the man reach out for him with greedy and malicious looks. Instead, the man kept a respective distance between them, and looked at him like he was no different from him. Like he was **normal**. “If nobody wants to accept monsters like us, then I guess we’ll just have to find our place among other monsters. Come with me and become my son.” The man held out his hand towards him and waited patiently. He didn’t grab him, and he didn’t force him. He was waiting for his answer, allowing him to make his own choice. “Let’s find other monsters, and form a family of our own. What do you say?” He looked up at the man, and for the first time ever, he felt accepted. He reached out timidly and placed his own tiny hands on the man’s larger ones.

“I…” Tears welled up in his eyes as he sniffled. “I’d like that, yoi.”

And he was never alone again from that day on.

* * *

“Aren’t you going to stop him?” Ace asked, coming up to the Phoenix’s side, gesturing to his side at Whitebeard, who sat in his chair with a bottle of sake in hand.

“Nope.” Marco smiled fondly. “I always scolded him about it before, yoi. Now that he’s healthy, I’m going to let him enjoy it a little before I restrict him again, yoi.” Ace chuckled.

“Who knew that dying was all it took to cure Oyaji’s illness? I didn’t think you meant it so literally when you said that power leaves the body renewed.”

“I honestly didn’t, yoi.” Marco laughed. “At least I don’t have to worry so much anymore, yoi. Even if Oyaji drinks too much and gets alcohol poisoning, he’ll recover again, as good as new, so long as I’m alive, yoi. I’ll just get drunk for an instant when all that alcohol comes flooding into me, yoi.” He joked, Ace laughing along before a slightly mournful expression came over him.

“Just be careful, will you, Marco? I mean, sure you can heal and all, but it still hurts you, doesn’t it?” Marco was silent for a while before he smiled softly and raised his fist to the freckled teen.

“I’ll be careful if you will, yoi. Deal?” Ace returned the smile and fist bump.

“Deal. Wouldn’t want you to lose all your feathers, turkey.” Marco just laughed.

“Which reminds me, turn around, yoi.” Ace gave him a curious look, but turned around anyway, showing his tattoo to Marco. Marco placed a hand onto his back, and with a soft golden glow, pulled out a burnt piece of his tail. As his blue flames swept over the tail piece, repairing the damage, Ace stared incredulously.

“I was wondering where in the world did you put it on us so that we’d have it with us at all times while not noticing it at the same time. Did you seriously put it into our tattoos? How does that even work?” Marco smirked at him, ignoring the fact that he could feel Whitebeard’s keen gaze on him.

“I’m not telling you, yoi.” He said, placing the newly repaired tail piece back into Ace’s back, making the teen shiver at the mental image. He then turned to Whitebeard, changing into hybrid form and flying up to his shoulder. “Oyaji, that’s enough sake for today, yoi.” Whitebeard grumbled, holding the bottle out of Marco’s reach.

“I haven’t had enough yet.” Marco shook his head and gave Whitebeard a teasing smirk.

“Oyaji, do you really want me to go through alcohol poisoning every time you die from it, yoi?” He teased, knowing Whitebeard absolutely hated any of his sons going through any sort of pain. Whitebeard grumbled as he sulkily handed the bottle over.

“Stingy, guilt-tripping monster son.” Marco burst out laughing at that as he grabbed the bottle with his talon.

“Well, I have to be one in order to fit into this family of monsters, yoi!”


	5. Chapter 5

“This is ridiculous.” Ace seethed. Marco sat across him, arms crossed, looking unbothered.

“I agree.” Thach agrees next to Ace, clearly displeased. “This was a bad idea from the beginning. We shouldn’t have let you keep it up.” Nobody else spoke, still shaken up by what they witnessed in the battle just a few minutes prior.

* * *

The sounds of clashing swords and gunfire sounded out at sea. They had gotten into a fight with some pirates who dared to challenge them. The supposedly easy fight was hindered by the rocky seas and stormy weather, just as one would expect from the unpredictable weather of the Grand Line. One slip was all it took and a scream sounded out.

“HARUTA!!!” Ace screamed in horror. Ace’s scream having caught the attention of the crew, they turned only to witness the split-second moment, everyone freezing up in shock, even the enemy forces. They watched, mouth agape, as Haruta’s eyes glazed over for a second before it cleared with a blink. There was a thud elsewhere and everyone turned to look. They paled instantly and their blood ran cold.

“Ah…” Thatch stared at the head, sporting the ever so familiar pineapple-like look, rolling on the deck, away from its body. “M-Mar-?” Thatch gagged, the tears welling up in his eyes. “Marco…!”

“NO!” Ace rushed up to the body, tears streaming down his face alongside the rain. “Nonononono, what the hell were you thinking, you stupid birdbrain?! You weren’t supposed to die! At least live past Oyaji, damn it!” He cried. Behind him, Thatch fell to his knees in shock, collapsing in tears, his loud anguished wails barely heard over the thunder.

“M-Marco…” Haruta choked out a sob, not even caring about the new scar over his neck. He reached out a shaky hand towards his beheaded brother. “Marco!”

All around them, every Whitebeard Pirate looked on in shock. A low rumble sounded out and the air seemed to vibrate. The gleeful smug looks on their enemies’ faces at having taken out one of the strongest and notorious members of the Whitebeard Pirates turned into fear in less than a second, as a large man made his way to the deck, each of his heavy footsteps resounding in their ears.

“You have harmed my son.” His voice left them shaking in their boots as Whitebeard raised his bisento, his piercing yellow eyes gleaming, filled with rage. “Die.” Screams sounded out and a grotesque scene was soon created, left behind as the Moby Dick sailed away mere seconds later.

“Oyaji…” Whitebeard dropped heavily down onto his throne with a deep sigh. How could he had just let one of his sons die like that? He should’ve stopped Marco, forbid him from doing such a risky thing earlier. But if he had stopped Marco, Haruta would’ve been the one who died instead. Either way, he would lose a son, and he could blame no one but himself, for not having stepped in earlier. He knew how capable his sons are, and that crew had been laughably weak, but accidents happen. He knew that, and yet he left them to fend for themselves. He could blame no one but himself. “Don’t blame yourself, please.” He must’ve been wearing his emotions on his sleeve, because Izo pleaded with him not to blame himself. But who else could he blame?

“I failed you all as your father.” He murmured.

“No. Don’t say that, Oyaji!” Ace shot him a tearful glare. “You are the best father ever, and if you ever say otherwise, I’ll punch you for real!” He could say nothing to the freckled teen, who shook his fist at him.

“I’ll punch you too if you say that, yoi.” All heads turned at the same time towards the voice, gaping as they watched the once headless body sit up, and move to stand.

“M-Marco, you…” Thatch shakily raised a finger, pointing at him. Marco just looked to him curiously.

“Hm?”

“Y-You’re alive.” Haruta breathed out, not believing what he was seeing.

“Yeah, obviously, yoi. I was startled though, yoi. It came out of nowhere, yoi.” Marco patted down his clothes before straightening up again, looking to them with a smile. “Why? Did you think I was dead, yoi?” His question was met with several tearful glares from all directions.

“YES, WE DID!”

* * *

They had called a meeting with the Commanders right after, where the tension in the air continued to grow as the two flaming (literally, they were both on fire) devil fruit users stared each other down.

“Take your stupid feather back!” Ace exploded in anger, never one to talk a problem out.

“Make me, yoi.” Marco challenged, unfazed.

“I don’t need it!”

“Tell that to me again in the Marineford War, yoi.”

“Where **you** nearly **died**!”

“Because you went and got yourself impaled with a magma fist first, yoi.”

“That’s better than seeing your head dropping to the ground and rolling across the deck like some sick prop!”

“So don’t get beheaded and no heads will roll, yoi.”

“It was an accident!”

“And that is exactly why I do it, yoi.”

“My head came off.” Haruta whimpered softly from the side, receiving comforting pats on his back from Vista.

“You can’t keep us alive forever anyway, Marco.” Thatch said. “One day, we’ll all die of old age.”

“So will I, yoi. I can’t heal old age after all, yoi.” Marco said. “I’m just using this,” he gestured to their Jolly Roger, “to prevent you from having an early unnatural death, yoi.”

“But still, you could’ve died!” Thatch argued.

“And so could you, yoi. And Ace. And Oyaji. And Haruta just now, yoi.” Marco countered. “And besides, I didn’t die now, did I, yoi? You said it yourself, yoi. I’m a phoenix, yoi. I’ll heal from every wound, so I won't die that easily, yoi."

“It would’ve saved us from that creepy sight though.” Thatch grumbled. Marco just ignored it and turned to the others in the room.

“Anything else, yoi?” Despite the grumblings under their breaths, nobody else spoke up. They all knew it was pointless. Marco was just as stubborn and selfish as any pirate could be. No matter how much they try to get him to stop doing it, once he had his mind set on it, he wouldn’t listen to anybody else. They could only sigh.

“You’re going to be the death of me, son.” Whitebeard sighed, shaking his head in dismay.

“Quite the opposite, Oyaji.” Marco raised his brow at him.

“He means, you and the way you act like this sometimes is the reason his moustache is white, Marco.” Izo sighed, making Marco roll his eyes.

“I know, Izo. I’m not that dumb, yoi.”

“I’d like to think otherwise, with all these stupid ideas of yours.” Vista frowned.

“It’s just one, yoi. If anything, all those pranks Haruta and Thatch (and sometimes Ace) pull constantly are going to turn **my** hair white, yoi.”

“White turkey.” Thatch snickered, making everyone burst into laughter, while Marco just shot Thatch a glare, which only made Thatch stick his tongue out at him.

* * *

BONUS:

They exited the meeting room, only to find a crowd on the deck.

“What’s going on?” Fossa asked. The crowd looked over to them and separated to let them through.

“Um, what do we do with that?” They pointed to the object in the middle of the crowd. Catching sight of said object made the Commanders grimace, and even Whitebeard was holding back his own grimace.

“Just get rid of it, yoi.” Marco was the only one who was unaffected, just shrugging nonchalantly. “Or if you want, we can keep it, yoi.” That elicited the most feminine shriek from the fearsome Whitebeard Pirates.

“I don’t wanna see that again!” Haruta whined, covering his eyes.

“So get rid of it, yoi.” Marco repeated. “Toss it overboard or something, yoi.”

“It’s **your** head, **you** go do it!” Ace yelled, pointing to the object sitting upright in the middle of the deck, hazy eyes frozen wide open in surprise. It really was like something straight out of a horror story. Marco rolled his eyes.

“Fine, fine, I’ll do it, yoi.” He walked up to his own head, picked it up, and set it ablaze with blue flames, before letting it meld into him. “There, done, yoi.” He turned around, only to meet with glares from all directions.

“WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST DO THAT EARLIER?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love reading comments, and some comments really made my day when I read it! So I chose a few fun comments and made a fun (and I hope it isn't too morbid/graphic?) chapter out of it! Enjoy!  
> (Oh, and please don't get started on whether Marco will survive without his head or not, this is written just for fun, it's fanfiction, and therefore not real and may not be logical.)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time on AO3. The tagging system is more elaborate than Fanficition.net but I'm not used to it, so if there's any tags that I've missed out, please let me know!  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this and please leave some reviews, I love reading them! :)


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